Dinner

In the summer, I hardly ever want to cook because it’s so effing hot! The good thing about this recipe is even though it requires you to cook for a minute, it takes under 5 minutes to make this recipe. Can’t beat that, right?! Fajitas are one of my go to favorites, but this is a lighter, cooler, healthier version.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast

olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

salt to taste

6-8 sweet mini peppers, sliced

1/4 onion

Lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup cheese

cilantro

chipotle ranch dressing

Directions

Add olive oil to a saute pan and cook chicken, salt, spices and onions on high heat until cooked through. Add in sliced peppers, stirring until very lightly cooked, only about 1 minute and set aside. divide lettuce into individual bowls and add sauteed mixture on top, followed by cheese, cilantro, and dressing.

I love cooking, but working full time and having a toddler complicates that. That’s why I have figured out the solution to me actually cooking (and not giving in to grabbing takeout yet again) is doing the prep work ahead. See my tips on that here.

Along those lines, the other day I wanted to bust out a yummy meal with the food we had on hand, and I had just bought these Italian-style meatballs on a whim to see if they were any good, so I decided to experiment with them.

My husband called me that he was on his way home so I decided I would see what I could do before he got home. Well turned out I finished up the whole thing in that amount of time so dinner was ready when he got home. It’s like the unicorns and magical butterflies were on my side! Not only that, he raved about how good this dish was (and I quote “honey, this could be in a restaurant”), which coming from a man that grew up on gourmet food as the norm, is saying something! I’m definitely going to keep this one on the “make again” list.

Ingredients

1 bag fettuccini noodles

1 bag Italian style frozen meatballs

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

1 cup frozen (or fresh) peppers, diced

1 small can mushrooms

1 16 ounce can tomato sauce

4 ounces of cream cheese

2 cloves garlic

2 heaping handfuls spinach

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in fettuccini. In another pot, turn to medium heat and add in frozen meatballs, mushrooms and peppers. Continue stirring until meatballs start thaw. Pour in sauce, garlic, and seasoning then continue stirring until fully cooked, about 5-7 minutes. Strain cooked pasta. In the sauce pan, add the cream cheese to sauce and melt in until completely combined. Turn down heat to low and stir in spinach until lightly wilted. Serve over pasta.

My husband told me about how Costco has these premade crepes, so I decided to try to mimick one of my favorites from Mimi’s Cafe the roasted chicken crepes. I swapped cream cheese for Brie and played a bit with the flavor, but it ended up tasting pretty delish. So enjoy!

Directions

Sauté onions on medium for 1 minute, then add chicken breast and herbs and cook until chicken is fully cooked. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté on low. Stir in cream cheese in chunks, followed by broth and mix until creamy. Turn up on high and let it thicken. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Spoon mixture into crepes, wrap and drizzle with sauce.

I’m always looking for healthy recipes, but with a baby it’s hard to find really delicious recipes that are easy. What I love about these Brussels sprouts is they taste so gourmet and delicious with little effort. Only only slightly challenging part was making sure the little mister was entertained for 5 minutes while I constantly whisked the balsamic reduction, but he was fine (read: I had to let him cry it out for a minute since he was bored…)

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off brown ends of sprouts, slice in half and lay face down on baking sheet. Dice onions and sprinkle on baking sheet. Place in oven for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes of baking, add grape tomatoes and bake the remaining 10 minutes. When done, scoop into a bowl, sprinkle with feta, and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

For balsamic reduction: pour balsamic vinegar and sugar into a small pan and whisk on high until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.

Having a seven month old means the easier and healthier the recipe, the better. As evidence I’m writing this post on my phone while my son is nursing. Yay for multi-tasking! This morning I did a little scavenging in my cupboard and came up with this. I added a bunch of veggies, but you could totally change up what goes in here and load it up even more. It was a hit in my house!

Directions
Add all ingredients except broccoli and pasta to the slow cooker with 1 cup water. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8. When ready, cook pasta, then add broccoli to the pasta water when it’s done and strain. Shred chicken, pour on sauce, and garnish with cheese, if desired.

What’s not to love about an easy recipe that’s healthy, delicious, and takes about 5 minutes of your time? Um, nothing. Especially when you have a three-month-old who desperately needs your attention! Plus now that it’s getting beautifully sunny and HOT outside, I don’t want to heat up the house with my cooking. Enter this chicken and veggie taco recipe, and problem solved! My favorite part is I can just toss it all in (I don’t even have to touch or chop the raw chicken!) and I can get on with my day.

Directions

Dice onion, pepper, and squash. Put chicken, salsa, water and spices into the slow cooker. Add vegetables on top. Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low. About 30 minutes before serving shred the chicken using two forks so the juices soak in. Serve on tortillas (or save leftovers to put on salad).